PARMA, Ohio - When Jeff Fowler and other members of the All Saints Episcopal Church started their mobile food pantry outreach in September 2014, they had no idea that it would become such an essential part of people's lives in the community.

Fowler, who is also the business manager for the All Faiths Pantry, spearheads the food distribution on the church grounds the third Saturday of every month. He estimates that they supply fresh vegetables, fruit and bread to about 230 households every month.

This past Saturday, the members of the Rise In Love Center joined them to distribute pre-packaged boxes of household goods and non-perishable food. Barb Sternberg, a founding board member of Rise In Love, said that the group started to address people's physical, financial and spiritual needs.

"The rate of povery within the Cleveland suburbs has grown substantially since 2001," Sternberg said, "and many of the safety net programs are concentrated in the inner city, leaving the suburbs with little to no assistance."

Last month, Rise In Love distributed pre-packaged boxes of goods and food at Parma Heights City Hall in association with the Parma Heights Food Pantry.

Safe Driving: The second annual Teen Driving ROADeo created by UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. June 24 at Tri-C West. This event, funded by State Farm, gives teens and parents the opportunity to learn about navigating different types of challenges behind the wheel, while ensuring they have the tools to become safe, careful drivers.

"As a parent of a teen driver, I know firsthand how important and needed an event like this is," says Jennifer Walker, Manager of the UH Rainbow Injury Prevention Center. "We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to bring amazing partners together to teach parents and teens these valuable skills and really make an impact on teen driver safety."

Sessions at the event will include hands on presentations from experts in the field including the American Trucking Association with its "Share the Road" program and local law enforcement officers who will educate teens and parents on Ohio's Graduated Driver License Law and what to do during traffic violation stops or if involved in a motor vehicle crash.

Area businesses will share pointers on car care basics including how to change a tire and jump a battery and proper vehicle maintenance.

Participants will also have an opportunity to try the Simulated Impaired Driving Experience (SIDNE) - a go-kart that gives drivers a chance to safely experience the effects of impairment while behind the wheel and use a driving simulator to safely try their hand at texting and driving. The event will conclude with a "Jaws of Life" demonstration by the Parma Heights Fire Department.

A $15 registration fee per family gets attendees a $25 gas card, 10 hands on learning sessions, giveaways and snacks. Registration can be done online at bit.ly/TeenRoadeo. Attendees can also register onsite at the event.

Soccer Champs: Congratulations to Coach Doug Schweitzer and the Force soccer team that won the Parma Recreation League Boy Division Championship recently. The team finished with a perfect record of 11-0 and allowed only two goals all season.

"This is the high school division of the Rec League," Schweitzer said, "so most of our players still have two years left. Last year, we only won one game. Huge turnaround!"

Reminder: The City of Brooklyn is having a community-wide garage sale June 24-25.

A participation form is available on the city's website. You can bring the form to the building department or email it to Dawn Neal at dneal@brooklynohio.gov

More Information: If you have news or updates about your family or group, send it to me at marklholan@yahoo.com